It is quiet amusing to me to view clips on Youtube of pianists playing like Oscar Peterson to the extent that some of them are playing his recordings note for note as they innocently give off an attitude of extreme accomplishment. In reality, Oscar would probably slap them upside the head for doing that. He was a stickler for pianists to play like themselves and not copy other players. Read More…

The year was 1980. I had just released a solo piano album called “Solo Recital.” It was a common practice for me to visit Diz at his home in New Jersey where we would practice together or just hang out. Dizzy had this space down in the basement of his home in Englewood where he had a piano, a set of drums, a pool table and some furniture. It was here that we would hang and spend time together. On this particular evening i had brought my new album over and we were listening to it and playing chess. I would always learn something whenever he would critique my work so that was the main reason I brought the recording along.Read More…